Wrestler Says He Got ‘Mat Herpes’ Because Of Lax Health Safety Protocols, Calls For Tournament Postponement
The Bay Area high school wrestler says many contestants will hide their lesions from the herpes virus with Band-Aids and makeup, and that it's not safe for the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships to go on. However, a CIF official says that, though they will ramp up health precautions for the tournament, there's no reason to postpone it.
San Jose Mercury News:
I Have 'Mat Herpes,' Sunnyvale Wrestler Warns, Calling For Delay Of California High School Championship
A high school wrestler who believes he contracted a highly contagious virus known as "mat herpes" during a recent tournament at San Jose's Independence High came forward Wednesday to plead that officials postpone this weekend's state wrestling championships because other Bay Area wrestlers were exposed. State interscholastic officials said they won't cancel the tournament in Bakersfield, insisting they follow rigid protocols to protect wrestlers from infections and viruses like "herpes gladiatorum," which is spread mostly through red skin lesions. All athletes go through "skin checks" before the tournament and any athlete with an active infection won't be allowed to compete. (Sulek and Jacewicz, 3/3)
The Bakersfield Californian:
State Wrestling Tourney To Continue Despite Herpes Scare
A Bay Area high school wrestler whose face has broken out into severe lesions says he contracted a contagious form of “mat herpes” from a tournament last month, and he is calling for this weekend’s CIF State Championships at Rabobank Arena to be postponed. Despite those pleas, state CIF officials said they would carry on as planned with the tournament, where more than 560 wrestlers will compete, including 31 from Kern County. (Pierce, 3/3)